Pickering Town will be looking to secure their third successive win in the Northern Counties East League premier division when they travel to face Hall Road Rangers tomorrow.

Manager Jimmy Reid is positive about the Pikes chances, but also aware that it won’t be a walk in the park.

He said: “They’re in free-fall at the minute. So hopefully we can keep a clean sheet.

“At home we should have beaten them 10-2. But I’m not saying it’s going to be easy.”

Reid is confident Town can capitalise on the bad form of their opponents.

“There are goals in the team and to be honest I feel that we’re due to beat somebody by three or four.”

Reid added: “The central midfield lads are in form and Dave Bramley is back after having food poisoning.”

The Pikes will be upbeat after their 2-0 victory over Grangetown Boys in the North Riding Senior Cup on Tuesday, with second-half goals from Liam Salt and Joe Danby.

Boss Reid wasn’t best pleased with the ground, but gave mention to the scorers and the performance.

“It was a rough old encounter and not the best game of football I’ve ever seen. The pitch was heavy and the floodlights were bad,” he said.

“But I can’t really complain, we came away with a victory and a clean sheet.

“Liam Salt missed a penalty but made up for it with a great finish and Joe Danby finished well.”

Reid also remarked on the physicality of Grangetown.

“There were a lot of tackles going in. But nobody’s injured – just a few bumps and bruises.”

The Pikes boss is now confident of overcoming Guisborough Town in the semi-final, which will be played on March 5 and will replace Town’s NCEL premier division game against Arnold Town.

“We’ve got a better chance of winning the tie because we’re at home,” he declared.

“It’s a great pitch to pass the ball on and that’s what we like to do, get the ball down and pass it around.”

Reid also saluted stand-in keeper Alex McDowall. “He performed well and kept a clean sheet.

“It would be nice to get to the final.

“I hope we can get a decent crowd for the semi-final and they can bring a few to make it a good game.”